It’s almost always simple to look back in history with a clear eye and note misdeeds and murder. Genocides pop out as self-evident, colonialism screams loudly, but for some reason, while in the throes of it all, many individuals, especially those who consider themselves conservative and level-headed, completely miss what is occurring right under their More
The post When Our Descendants Look Back on This Chapter appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
Photograph by Nathaniel St. Clair
It’s almost always simple to look back in history with a clear eye and note misdeeds and murder. Genocides pop out as self-evident, colonialism screams loudly, but for some reason, while in the throes of it all, many individuals, especially those who consider themselves conservative and level-headed, completely miss what is occurring right under their noses.
The abject disconnect between what is going on in Palestine, the clear (and independently verified by the ICJ ) war crimes, and the lack of understanding and basic human decency exhibited by most older Americans is horrifying, to say the least. Yet to hear most of these Americans describe themselves, they would never admit to being fine with bombing schools, hospitals, or using snipers to take head-shots at children…..yet, here we are. We are completely funding this horror. These very groups simply ignore the facts, avoid looking at video proof, proof literally available in the palms of their hands–or they simply shrug and say this is how it has always been. This is perhaps the most disturbing, to hold views such as this indicates a dark nihilism, that things can never progress. This defeatist notion simply works to normalize tremendous violence done with American supplies. These same individuals would probably not have looked at something like, say, the Manson family murders and say “oh certain groups have always been crazy through time and it’s just the way it is when they get an itch to murder.” No, they would want the murders to stop and those responsible to receive justice. And they certainly wouldn’t shrug it off if their own tax dollars were being used by Charlie Manson’s group to buy knives. Yeah, I know this is a dated reference, I have no idea why it’s what popped in my mind. Sometimes when you take an argument for what seems like a problem too large to understand, if you distill it down to a similar, but micro-example, it becomes obvious. You don’t simply shrug off hideous deeds, small scale or large by saying it’s how it has always been. And you absolutely don’t rubber stamp funding it.
Of course much of the lack of concern is because it’s being done to Palestinians, one of the most unfairly viewed groups on the planet. They get caged in, yet if they fight back, they are in the wrong. They get raped in prison, but Western media does articles how they are the rapists (when later articles are debunked on this topic and found to be written by hasbara propagandists, somehow that never has the attention or traction the initial lies did). They get accused of beheading babies, and individuals like Biden even say they saw photos of such monstrosities.
Then, when even Israeli newspapers debunk these tales, people like Biden aren’t called to task for their lies. Yes, he’s a confused dude, but he’s still “officially” running our country. I think a lie so outrageous should have to be addressed. I wouldn’t get a free pass if I called a news conference and said I saw photos of my neighbor’s collection of beheaded babies. I’m fairly sure I’d receive some sort of consequence for a lie like that. It’s as if it never happened, and they move on to the new lie of the day while ample video and testimony from Jewish American doctors helping in Gaza describe seeing hordes of maimed, discarded children, many with obvious sniper shots to their heads and hearts. But yeah, we have a nation of old people believing an old man who describes made up photos…..for those of us not along for this genocidal ride, it’s certainly crazy-making to have Emperor Has No Clothes moments over and over in regard to much more serious issues than royal nudity. The same people that are quite irate that Palestinians want to fight back get a hard-on when speaking of the American Revolution and its significant concern about taxes and the price of tea. Now that’s a reason to fight back—being caged in apartheid type situation…..shh, Palestinians, and just die already.
What is going on in Palestine is, as they say, simply a laboratory for the rest of the world. To not take a stance on such horror is to sign your own death warrant. Ignoring horror works for a minute or two but it is never the solution. How does that work out when you tune out the sound of water behind a wall or the nasty rattling of your car? Americans are doing this very thing, but for….yeah, genocide. But it’s okay, we might get to opt for a different cooler Zionist than the orange Zionist this election cycle. We have choices!
The closest parallel to the situation in Gaza is of course the widespread annihilation of the Native Americans in the United States during the Manifest Destiny years. I’m sure the typical Zionist feels it is “their turn” to do the same. To plunder, steal and kill off as many of those in the way as did the Americans. Even polio is at play as a biowarfare agent if you can believe it. A polio epidemic is occurring as a very purposeful cause and effect is at play from the Israeli forces. I’m sure they’d hand out some smallpox blankets if they could just get their hands on a few. It was a horrible mistake of the past and should not be on repeat.
We are at a time when rampant settler colonialism will literally kill the planet. It’s not even up for debate that this is wrong. Take away the obvious ethical horror of the United States expansion over the continent and the subsequent genocide of the Native Americans and look at it in another way—this disgusting and malignant growth has no future. It was a terrible dead end that we are just now seeing the result of. And another nation is now doing the very same thing, all these years later. It’s about cannibalizing non-renewable resources and the people in the way are simply killed off. But the hard fact of it is, even if you are a sociopath and have no qualms about murder, it’s not a way to run a sustainable society. You are creating a situation where wealth gets more tied up in the hands of fewer and fewer individuals, and life just becomes unbearably difficult for the young, even in so-called wealthy nations. Homelessness explodes, working full-time isn’t enough for shelter…..and it’s all because this is the way of things in a system such as this. As they say, it’s not a bug, it’s a feature.
The oligarchs want total control of the resources, and even if you think you are safe, you’re at risk of receiving the treatment Palestinians are enduring if this isn’t stopped. Cancerous growths like billionaires and military-industrial complexes are never satisfied—who knows when you or yours will be in their way? The individuals murdered during these eras are the most obvious canaries in a coalmine. An equitable system that can last does not require murder to sustain it. It’s insane to even have to point that out, but again, to most older Americans, they can’t fathom the scope of any of this. They go on railing about which political party they hate, they try to balance their debts–and they sleepwalk to the grave.
This is absolutely not a system that can continue. The oligarchs know it and this is why you see the likes of Bill Gates buying up massive amounts of American cropland. It’s never a choice to use resources to change this path for all, it’s the hyper-individualism of a symbolic five gallon bucket of rice for the Apocalypse. Tawdry self-interest and turning off the brain, ignoring about 95% of what we are capable of if we simply stopped competing like we are all in a Roman gladiator game.
I’m sure when this period is looked back on, it will hold hyper-significance to the historians (I’m being hopeful here that there will be historians). We are living in interesting and pivotal times. Those in the future will look back at this situation and say of us: the use of violence was considered to be fine during that era if it was done at a large state-level, theft of resources was also considered to be fine, as long as it was done by a government of largely light skinned people against those with darker skin. If you were reading a science fiction novel about a planet with the above characteristics what would you think about that planet? This is how we will be judged unless we make a mark as the group that said no more.
Because none of this should be normalized.
The post When Our Descendants Look Back on This Chapter appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
